The Importance of Party Discipline

The Importance of Party Discipline

Canada is one of the largest and most culturally diverse countries in the world. These characteristics make the democratic governing of the country a difficult task. A democratic model is needed that respects the fundamental rights and freedoms of various diverse cultures, and unites these cultures over a huge land mass as Canadians. To do this the Canadian government is one which is pluralist. Pluralism is the ideology that groups, (in Canada's case political parties), should rule in government. These parties help protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of everyone living in Canada, regardless of their ethnicity, or religious beliefs. The role political parties play in Canada is vital for maintaining democracy, and party discipline is what keeps these parties together.

Party discipline is defined as, "the ability of the leader in a democratic state to enforce obedience on his or her followers in the legislature and in the party organization," (Jackson, Conlin). Simply put, party discipline is the principle that all members of a specific party follow similar guides and vote in the same way. This practice has received a lot of criticism from different people who believe that almost forcing members of parliament to vote in a particular way is a violation of their constitutional rights and degrades democracy. In reality however, party discipline is necessary if a pluralist parliamentary system like that of Canada is to work. Party discipline is an important practice in the Canadian political system because it forces elected members of parliament to make predictable and stable decisions and increases the overall efficiency of the democratic process.

When politicians make decisions they follow guidelines set by their political party. Without these guidelines, and party whips to insure the practice of the guidelines, politicians would be free to vote whichever way they choose. This would mean that the justification as well as actual decision varies among individuals regardless of which party they are affiliated with. The principles used to determine the best decision are based on the personal opinion of the politicians. People in general have a tendency to have liberal opinions on one issue, yet conservative opinions on another, for example, someone who believes same sex marriage should be illegal, does not necessarily believe that abortion should be illegal. Party discipline forces politicians to neglect the principles that may cause them to vote the "wrong" way, and makes their actions somewhat predictable.

Predictable actions from representatives in office are advantageous to Canadians because they know ahead of time what their vote is going to accomplish for them. In the absence of party discipline, where representatives vote for what they feel is the right decision, voters cannot account for what the person they are voting for will do in a given situation. By adhering to general party lines, voters have an idea of what kinds of decisions will be made by parliament. Jackson and Conlin write:

"MPs do not and should not directly represent their individual constituencies, provinces, or even particular regions, polling on every issue to see how they should vote. Rather they are members of a particular party that provides broad perspectives on national issues" (Jackson, Conlin).

It is easy to see the impracticality of a system where proper representation would require a polling of all people within the effected region, especially in a country as large as Canada. Canadians are "polled" when they vote, in the sense that they chose a party platform that they want to represent them, and not an individual. This is not a critique of the Canadian system, it is widely accepted by Canadians that the way the system is set up, voting for a party whose platform is closest to one's personal beliefs is more important than looking at the personal opinions of candidates. This is discussed when Jackson and Conlin write, "one report found that shortly after an election, fewer than two-thirds of respondents could correctly give the name of their recently elected MP," (Jackson, Conlin). The individual is of minimal significance when considering who to vote for in an election. Canadians can vote with confidence because they know politicians' actions will fall in line with the ideology of their respective party, which they have elected to become government.

By electing an individual who is free to make decisions based on his or her own morality and reason, voters would actually be compromising their freedom. Citizens would have no confidence in their representatives because the MP would be free to make decisions that are not subject to any guidelines or standards. Party discipline unites the country by having voters from various backgrounds and beliefs elect a political party into office. It is not as easy for individuals to relate to a candidate; it is much easier for individuals to relate to a political party, with a very general platform. Voters chose a political party based on how well they identify with the party's platform. Party discipline insures that this platform will be represented in parliamentary session, and thus the individual's needs, wants, and concerns are accurately represented.

Voters are not the only people who benefit from the practice of party discipline. The practice is also fundamentally important for the stability of the Canadian government. Being a pluralist country means there are groups (political parties) of differing ideologies that represent citizens in parliament. However, since there are so many parties in Canada, it is common that the party with the most seats has fewer than the combined total seats won by other parties. A minority government occurs when less than fifty percent of the seats go to the political party that has formed the government. If a governing party has less than fifty percent of the seats, then it is a minority government because there are more opposing seats, that is, there are more seats that belong to political parties that are not the governing party. Minority governments are problematic for governing MPs because they have to constantly satisfy other political parties in order to maintain confidence with the legislative assembly. If the other political parties are not satisfied with the governing minority party, they could vote non-confidence which could lead to an election. These challenges that minority governments face can be reasonably managed only if there is a strong party discipline.

Jackson and Conlin write, "The government must therefore enforce party discipline [...] for the sake of its own self-preservation," (Jackson, Conlin). What they mean is that in a minority government,